This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically feeding portions of a hay bale to animals. More particularly, it relates to a self-contained unit which advances a hay bale toward the cutting blade and which automatically slices portions of the bale, making the feed available to animals at preselected timed intervals.
The feeding of large animals, such as horses and cows, is frequently inconvenient since it must take place in the field. In many cases, multiple trips must be made to ensure that the animals have adequate feed, yet are not overfed at any given time. In the past, it has often been necessary for a farmer to manually separate portions of feed from a bale of hay, resulting in an inconvenient and inefficient operation. The problem was particularly acute for persons who owned a small number of animals and who wished to leave town for a few days, leaving no way to provide a frequent supply of small portions of food for their animals.
In the past, there have been many ways known to automatically deliver hay or similar feed to animals. For example, Florek, U.S. Pat. No. 3,312,196 discloses a transport system for a plurality of hay bales to a trough for feeding. A hay box for feeding horses is shown in Snel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,197; however, this device does not have the ability to enclose the rack to prevent feeding at other than desired times. Elliott, U.S. Pat. No. 1,022,309 shows a feeder which has a door which opens automatically at a preset time. Dueringer, U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,995 discloses a silo having a centrally-pivoted radial chain saw which loosens silage, and a screw feeder which transports the silage to a trough. A feed box having an automatically deliverable payload actuated by weights is disclosed in Faulkner, U.S. Pat. No. 727,925. Askew, U.S. Pat. No. 600,056 discloses an automatic feeder in which a timer opens the feed bin doors. Baltz, U.S. Pat. No. 2,861,544 discloses an automatic silo feeder similar to the Dueringer patent.
The present invention is designed to feed a relatively small number (e.g., 1-3) of animals portions of a hay bale on a timed basis. Basically, the device consists of a horizontal chute enclosed within a styrofoam-insulated housing, the chute being defined by a housing which encloses a bale of hay. The chute or chamber has a door which moves up and down vertically on an electrically-operated rack and pinion mechanism. The entire forward portion of the feeder is enclosed by an additional door which is hinged, preventing the animals from becoming entangled in the operating mechanism of the feeder and the cutting device. The hay bale is moved through the chute by a pair of cables which extend around opposing sides of the bale and are removably fastened at the rear of the bale. Each cable is operated simultaneously by a separate winch which is actuated by a timer. The timer is preset to go on at a certain time, and operates for a sufficient length of time to move the bale forwardly in the chute for a preset desired distance. A horizontally-mounted hacksaw is then automatically actuated, cutting downwardly transversely through the bale and releasing a flake or slice of the bale which falls downwardly into the livestock feeding tray. The device is electrically powered, and can be actuated by a solar-powered 12 volt battery enabling remote operation in a field.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide portions of a bale of hay for livestock feeding at predetermined times. It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for feeding portions of a hay bale to livestock in remote field locations. It is yet another object of the invention to provide an automatic animal feeder which slices off flakes of a preselected size from a hay bale at predetermined time intervals. These and other objects are accomplished by the device of the invention, a more detailed description of an embodiment of which follows herein.